Child safety seats for automobiles are recognized as an important safety feature and one of the things which makes it possible to safely transport small children in vehicles on a regular basis. Such safety seats provide additional protection against collisions and other jarring movements of the vehicle which would otherwise take a toll on such small, undeveloped children. In addition, they provide enhanced securement to make sure that the child stays firmly in place.
A distinct disadvantage of such car seats is that they are designed with more of an eye towards safety than towards comfort. The thin pads, awkward shapes, and hard plastic shells can make for a very uncomfortable trip. Such child car seats can easily put the child in a bad mood by subjecting them to hard surfaces, uncomfortable positioning, and extreme temperatures. This in turn leads to annoyance and extra exertion on the part of the responsible parents or caretaker. Such distractions can be unpleasant, or at worst, even more dangerous. In particular, extremely cold weather conditions are exacerbated by the construction of many standard car seats. Even blankets are hard pressed to keep a child comfortable. The hard plastic and metal construction of such seats is hardly mitigated by the thin, poorly insulated pads disposed on many such seats.
Various attempts have been made to provide a comfortable, warm seating arrangement for a child. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,998, issued in the name of Siarkowski et al., describes a seat warmer. The Siarkowski device is a portable, flat, flexible heating pad which may be placed on most surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,687, issued in the name of Joseph et al., describes a child car seat heating surface. The Joseph device overlays a car seat and has apertures for fastening the device securely to the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,197,801, issued in the name of Bajic et al., describes an automotive vehicle seat insert. The Bajic apparatus is an integral heating means for installation into standard vehicle seats.
Additionally, ornamental designs for heated seats and child safety seats exist, particularly U.S. Pat. Nos. D 450,935 and D 469,998. However, none of these designs are similar to the present invention.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such devices are not adaptable to child safety seats. Also, many such devices are not portable in a manner which allows them to be powered in a vehicle. In addition, many such devices cannot be accessed or controlled by caretakers or parents in a manner which is simple and safe while occupying a moving motor vehicle. Furthermore, many such devices are difficult to adapt to child safety seats. Accordingly, there exists a need for a seat heating apparatus specifically tailored to child safety seats without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.